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URC Match week 1 thread
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20-09-2025 03:48PM#1
The URC is BACK!
Well it is back in 6 days, but opening this early to get some build up to the competition returning.
Defending champions Leinster start the new season in the unusual position (for them) of a South African tour first up. There Lions won't be available but they will be hoping that the Irish contingent will be there or else their hopes of bringing any points back will be very slim indeed. Leinster will be boosted by the lack of Springbok availability for the Stormers though many of their players will be raring to go after Currie Cup playing time.
Munster kick off the Clayton McMillan era away to the embattled Scarlets, who have not managed to come away victorious against Munster since 2019. McMillan will be hopeful of a strong start to his tenure but Munster will miss their Lions star Beirne and recently retired stalwarts Murray and O'Mahoney.
Having missed the URC playoffs for the first time last season, the time for Richie Murphy to start showing he can turn things around in Ulster is very much now or never. At home to the Dragons is about as easy a start as they can hope for, but despite the excellent addition of Augustus the squad looks slightly threadbare.
Connacht can make an early statement at home against Benetton, who were agonisingly close to a playoff spot last year and will rue some dropped points - most notably only getting 1 LBP. They can not afford blowout losses. How quickly can Lancaster make an impact and will a move to his traditional ball playing style take time to bed in.
Outside of the Irish provinces the pick of the matches is probably the Ospreys away to the Bulls, with the Welsh team hoping to take advantage of the missing internationals. Hopefully the cloud hanging over Welsh rugby's future does not permeate into the performances of the teams on the pitch.
Mod note: If anyone wishes to open individual match threads they can (no match this week strikes me as deserving of one but have at it).
Post edited by Podge_irl on6
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